


Candy Cane Pumpkin

by countryqueer



Series: Prompts of Castlemas [1]
Category: Castle (TV 2009)
Genre: 12PromptsofChristmas, Gen, Pre-Series, Young Alexis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:49:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28028055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/countryqueer/pseuds/countryqueer
Summary: Young Alexis has a school recital, Castle is a proud parent.For 12 Prompts of Christmas - Candy Cane
Relationships: Alexis Castle & Richard Castle
Series: Prompts of Castlemas [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2052981
Kudos: 3





	Candy Cane Pumpkin

Richard Castle sat in the front row of chairs in the gymnasium. He had his camera ready in his lap, a backup battery in the bag at his feet, and a Kodak as well in case the camera decided not to work. From his position, he could see some of the children getting ready in the wings to the podium. Teachers were making their way from one kid to the other, fixing makeup and wardrobe or calming the occasional 6 year-old with onset stage fright. He hoped Alexis was doing well.

He had dropped her off at her classroom an hour earlier. She had been so excited to show him what she and her friends had been working on for the past few weeks. He had occasionally caught a glimpse of her rehearsing the steps in her room but she had shooed him out of the room every time, wanting it to be a surprise.

So, that’s why he was in the elementary school gym right now, parents and family filling the seats all around him, an exciting buzz in the air. It was Alexis’ first time participating in a school recital. Castle didn’t exactly know what to expect, but he was planning on capturing every single move his pumpkin made on that stage.

Finally, the overhead lights turned off, a couple spotlights now lighting the small stage. Everyone in the audience politely clapped as the principal stepped into view.

“Welcome, everyone. The kids are very eager to show you their hard work so I will keep this short. Parents, family, friends, thank you for coming. Please enjoy this year’s show!”  
  
She exited the stage and a group of kids a couple years older than Alexis got into position. Their performance of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer had everyone laughing and swaying along. The same setup continued for a couple more classes. They would sing a holiday themed song or do a little dance and the audience would cheer very loudly after each performance. Some of the kids really got into it, others were a bit shy and would just stand there unmoving. All in all, Castle was having a good time.

Then finally the principal announced Alexis’ class. “Ladies and gentlemen, our first year Candy Canes!” A young woman he recognised as Alexis’ teacher ushered the group of students onto the stage before stepping off and taking her place at the front of it, facing her students. 

He immediately spotted his daughter’s red hair poking out of a red and white striped hat on the second row, about halfway up the stage. She - and the rest of her class - looked so cute in their costumes. They kind of looked like Waldo, but, if you tilted your head a bit, you could imagine they were candy canes.

He remembered to press the record button right before the music started. The teacher started to move and the kids on stage followed her directions. The group of stripes moved to the left, then twirled back to the right, waved their arms from time to time, and looked very much in sync for a group of 5 and 6 year-olds. 

When the music stopped, they all formed a long line and took their bow to the applause of the audience. Alexis must have spotted her dad during the performance because she looked right at him and his camera and waved as she walked off stage. He gave her two big thumbs up in response.  
  
After a couple more performances, the recital was over and the parents were invited to go to their children’s classrooms. Castle barely waited for the principal to say that to grab his heavy bag and lug it back to Alexis.  
  
He could hear excited shouts and giggles all through the hallway from the different rooms, the kids so jazzed up from the recital and it being the last day before christmas break. He reached his daughter’s classroom and gingerly peaked around the corner. He was the first parent to arrive so the kids were all still talking and playing with each other. 

The room looked very festive. There were handmade decorations hung up all over the room, clearly made by the students. The teacher had put on some christmas music and a couple of the kids were dancing and singing along to it.

The teacher spotted him and gestured for him to come in. “Alexis! Look who’s here.”

Alexis spun around. “Daddy!” She immediately left the circle of friends she was in and ran to him. “What did you think? Did you like it?” she excitedly asked him while giving him a big hug.

He returned it and answered, “Of course I did, pumpkin. You were amazing! You and your friend must have rehearsed so much to get that dance perfect. It looked hard.”

She looked up at him, arms still around his waist. “It was in the beginning. But we worked really hard.”

“I could definitely see that. I could never dance that well.”

She laughed, knowing he was probably right. He never could keep up with her at Dance Dance Revolution either.

“How about you show me around. Where’s your desk?”  
  
Alexis let go of him only to grab his hand and drag him along, already listing all the colours of pens she had in the box on her desk and the drawings she had to show him.


End file.
